“We found Willie.”
“Is he all right?”
“He’s unconscious, but he doesn’t seem to have any wounds, knife or gunshot. An ambulance is on the way; we’ll be at Lenox Hill.”
“See you there.” Stone hung up and began rounding up his clothes. “The man who was watching the house went after Dolce, and he has been found unconscious. I’m going to have to go to the hospital.”
“Do you want me to come?”
“No, I think you’re safer here. Are you armed?”
“There’s a gun in my handbag,” she said.
He picked up the purse from the floor and handed it to her. “Keep it in your hand until I get home,” he said. “I’ll ring the phone once, then hang up to let you know, so you won’t shoot me.”
15
Stone found Bob Cantor and Peter Leahy seated in the waiting area of the Lenox Hill emergency room. Cantor moved his jacket and made room for Stone between them.
“How is he?”
“Awake but with a concussion. They’re admitting him for observation.”
“What happened to him?”
“A blow to the head with something like one of those flat black-jacks that detectives used to carry.”
“That’s enough to concuss an ox,” Stone said. “Were you able to talk to him?”
“A little. He was confused, and he couldn’t remember being hit.”
“Just as well,” Stone said. “At least she didn’t knife him.”
“Yeah, I was worried about that until we couldn’t find a wound. A nurse found a big bruise under his hair. Where’s your houseguest?”
“Locked in with a gun in her hand,” Stone said. “Don’t worry; she’s a very capable lady.”
“Isn’t she the British spook I heard about a few years back?”
“Yes, but I didn’t tell you that.”
“Of course not. She’s your client, isn’t she?”
“I didn’t
tell you that, either.”
“Tell me the truth about this Whitestone guy.”
“It’s Whitestone like the bridge. You know everything I know. Dino ran the photo through the FBI facial comparison computer program and came up with a surveillance photo from a bank on Park Avenue, near the Seagram Building, but it wasn’t as good as what you got.”
“If he’s going into a bank on Park, maybe he works around there, maybe even in the Seagram Building.”
Stone nodded. “Or maybe he lives in the neighborhood.”
“That’s not a residential part of Park. You don’t find apartment buildings until uptown of Fifty-seventh Street.”
“Good point,” Stone agreed. “Can you round up some more help?”